Review of An American Werewolf in London (1981) by Bailey Q — 12 Mar 2011
This is hands-down my favorite movie of all time. If you're a fan of lycanthropes, this is also the holy grail of werewolf movies. The film features special effects by Rick Baker that were groundbreaking for their time and are still envied by effects artists today, from the famous transformation scene to the monster itself.
That being said, this film has the grace to follow the route of a more classic horror film in the way that it is not a gross-out-every-second bloodbath. There is some psychological terror balanced between a lot of humor to make it interesting, with completely likable and believable characters.
In fact, the character development in this movie (which is often rare in the world of horror) makes this werewolf out to be just about as decent as a guy as Lon Chaney Jr. in the original Wolfman. John Landis was incredibly brave for making a movie that blatantly defies all rules of the horror and comedy genres and creating a strange mixture of both that had never been seen before on the big screen.
As a result An American Werewolf may not have been as big of a box office hit as the films that played it safe and stuck to the conventions of what people were used to seeing, but it remains strong through the test of time as a cult film and a truly unforgettable movie.
This review of An American Werewolf in London (1981) was written by Bailey Q on 12 Mar 2011.
An American Werewolf in London has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
